Pepper hybrid SV6496HJ

ABSTRACT

The invention provides seed and plants of pepper hybrid SV6496HJ and the parent lines thereof. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of pepper hybrid SV6496HJ and the parent lines thereof, and to methods for producing a pepper plant produced by crossing such plants with themselves or with another pepper plant, such as a plant of another genotype. The invention further relates to seeds and plants produced by such crossing. The invention further relates to parts of such plants, including the fruit and gametes of such plants.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of plant breeding and, morespecifically, to the development of pepper hybrid SV6496HJ and theinbred pepper lines SJR-114-1172 and HJAFD13-1292.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The goal of vegetable breeding is to combine various desirable traits ina single variety/hybrid. Such desirable traits may include any traitdeemed beneficial by a grower and/or consumer, including greater yield,resistance to insects or disease, tolerance to environmental stress, andnutritional value.

Breeding techniques take advantage of a plant's method of pollination.There are two general methods of pollination: a plant self-pollinates ifpollen from one flower is transferred to the same or another flower ofthe same plant or plant variety. A plant cross-pollinates if pollencomes to it from a flower of a different plant variety.

Plants that have been self-pollinated and selected for type over manygenerations become homozygous at almost all gene loci and produce auniform population of true breeding progeny, a homozygous plant. A crossbetween two such homozygous plants of different genotypes produces auniform population of hybrid plants that are heterozygous for many geneloci. Conversely, a cross of two plants each heterozygous at a number ofloci produces a population of hybrid plants that differ genetically andare not uniform. The resulting non-uniformity makes performanceunpredictable.

The development of uniform varieties requires the development ofhomozygous inbred plants, the crossing of these inbred plants, and theevaluation of the crosses. Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection areexamples of breeding methods that have been used to develop inbredplants from breeding populations. Those breeding methods combine thegenetic backgrounds from two or more plants or various other broad-basedsources into breeding pools from which new lines and hybrids derivedtherefrom are developed by selfing and selection of desired phenotypes.The new lines and hybrids are evaluated to determine which of those havecommercial potential.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the present invention provides a pepper plant of thehybrid designated SV6496HJ, the pepper line SJR-114-1172 or pepper lineHJAFD13-1292. Also provided are pepper plants having all thephysiological and morphological characteristics of such a plant. Partsof these pepper plants are also provided, for example, including pollen,an ovule, scion, a rootstock, a fruit, and a cell of the plant.

In another aspect of the invention, a plant of pepper hybrid SV6496HJand/or pepper lines SJR-114-1172 and HJAFD13-1292 comprising an addedheritable trait is provided. The heritable trait may comprise a geneticlocus that is, for example, a dominant or recessive allele. In oneembodiment of the invention, a plant of pepper hybrid SV6496HJ and/orpepper lines SJR-114-1172 and HJAFD13-1292 is defined as comprising asingle locus conversion. In specific embodiments of the invention, anadded genetic locus confers one or more traits such as, for example,herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, disease resistance, and modifiedcarbohydrate metabolism. In further embodiments, the trait may beconferred by a naturally occurring gene introduced into the genome of aline by backcrossing, a natural or induced mutation, or a transgeneintroduced through genetic transformation techniques into the plant or aprogenitor of any previous generation thereof. When introduced throughtransformation, a genetic locus may comprise one or more genesintegrated at a single chromosomal location.

The invention also concerns the seed of pepper hybrid SV6496HJ and/orpepper lines SJR-114-1172 and HJAFD13-1292. The pepper seed of theinvention may be provided as an essentially homogeneous population ofpepper seed of pepper hybrid SV6496HJ and/or pepper lines SJR-114-1172and HJAFD13-1292. Essentially homogeneous populations of seed aregenerally free from substantial numbers of other seed. Therefore, seedof hybrid SV6496HJ and/or pepper lines SJR-114-1172 and HJAFD13-1292 maybe defined as forming at least about 97% of the total seed, including atleast about 98%, 99% or more of the seed. The seed population may beseparately grown to provide an essentially homogeneous population ofpepper plants designated SV6496HJ and/or pepper lines SJR-114-1172 andHJAFD13-1292.

In yet another aspect of the invention, a tissue culture of regenerablecells of a pepper plant of hybrid SV6496HJ and/or pepper linesSJR-114-1172 and HJAFD13-1292 is provided. The tissue culture willpreferably be capable of regenerating pepper plants capable ofexpressing all of the physiological and morphological characteristics ofthe starting plant, and of regenerating plants having substantially thesame genotype as the starting plant. Examples of some of thephysiological and morphological characteristics of the hybrid SV6496HJand/or pepper lines SJR-114-1172 and HJAFD13-1292 include those traitsset forth in the tables herein. The regenerable cells in such tissuecultures may be derived, for example, from embryos, meristems,cotyledons, pollen, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, pistils, flowers,seed and stalks. Still further, the present invention provides pepperplants regenerated from a tissue culture of the invention, the plantshaving all the physiological and morphological characteristics of hybridSV6496HJ and/or pepper lines SJR-114-1172 and HJAFD13-1292.

In still yet another aspect of the invention, processes are provided forproducing pepper seeds, plants and fruit, which processes generallycomprise crossing a first parent pepper plant with a second parentpepper plant, wherein at least one of the first or second parent pepperplants is a plant of pepper line SJR-114-1172 or pepper lineHJAFD13-1292. These processes may be further exemplified as processesfor preparing hybrid pepper seed or plants, wherein a first pepper plantis crossed with a second pepper plant of a different, distinct genotypeto provide a hybrid that has, as one of its parents, a plant of pepperline SJR-114-1172 or pepper line HJAFD13-1292. In these processes,crossing will result in the production of seed. The seed productionoccurs regardless of whether the seed is collected or not.

In one embodiment of the invention, the first step in “crossing”comprises planting seeds of a first and second parent pepper plant,often in proximity so that pollination will occur for example, mediatedby insect vectors. Alternatively, pollen can be transferred manually.Where the plant is self-pollinated, pollination may occur without theneed for direct human intervention other than plant cultivation.

A second step may comprise cultivating or growing the seeds of first andsecond parent pepper plants into plants that bear flowers. A third stepmay comprise preventing self-pollination of the plants, such as byemasculating the flowers (i.e., killing or removing the pollen).

A fourth step for a hybrid cross may comprise cross-pollination betweenthe first and second parent pepper plants. Yet another step comprisesharvesting the seeds from at least one of the parent pepper plants. Theharvested seed can be grown to produce a pepper plant or hybrid pepperplant.

The present invention also provides the pepper seeds and plants producedby a process that comprises crossing a first parent pepper plant with asecond parent pepper plant, wherein at least one of the first or secondparent pepper plants is a plant of pepper hybrid SV6496HJ and/or pepperlines SJR-114-1172 and HJAFD13-1292. In one embodiment of the invention,pepper seed and plants produced by the process are first generation (F₁)hybrid pepper seed and plants produced by crossing a plant in accordancewith the invention with another, distinct plant. The present inventionfurther contemplates plant parts of such an F₁ hybrid pepper plant, andmethods of use thereof. Therefore, certain exemplary embodiments of theinvention provide an F₁ hybrid pepper plant and seed thereof.

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides a method ofproducing a plant derived from hybrid SV6496HJ and/or pepper linesSJR-114-1172 and HJAFD13-1292, the method comprising the steps of: (a)preparing a progeny plant derived from hybrid SV6496HJ and/or pepperlines SJR-114-1172 and HJAFD13-1292, wherein said preparing comprisescrossing a plant of the hybrid SV6496HJ and/or pepper lines SJR-114-1172and HJAFD13-1292 with a second plant; and (b) crossing the progeny plantwith itself or a second plant to produce a seed of a progeny plant of asubsequent generation. In further embodiments, the method mayadditionally comprise: (c) growing a progeny plant of a subsequentgeneration from said seed of a progeny plant of a subsequent generationand crossing the progeny plant of a subsequent generation with itself ora second plant; and repeating the steps for an additional 3-10generations to produce a plant derived from hybrid SV6496HJ and/orpepper lines SJR-114-1172 and HJAFD13-1292. The plant derived fromhybrid SV6496HJ and/or pepper lines SJR-114-1172 and HJAFD13-1292 may bean inbred line, and the aforementioned repeated crossing steps may bedefined as comprising sufficient inbreeding to produce the inbred line.In the method, it may be desirable to select particular plants resultingfrom step (c) for continued crossing according to steps (b) and (c). Byselecting plants having one or more desirable traits, a plant derivedfrom hybrid SV6496HJ and/or pepper lines SJR-114-1172 and HJAFD13-1292is obtained which possesses some of the desirable traits of theline/hybrid as well as potentially other selected traits.

In certain embodiments, the present invention provides a method ofproducing food or feed comprising: (a) obtaining a plant of pepperhybrid SV6496HJ and/or pepper lines SJR-114-1172 and HJAFD13-1292,wherein the plant has been cultivated to maturity, and (b) collecting atleast one pepper from the plant.

In still yet another aspect of the invention, the genetic complement ofpepper hybrid SV6496HJ and/or pepper lines SJR-114-1172 and HJAFD13-1292is provided. The phrase “genetic complement” is used to refer to theaggregate of nucleotide sequences, the expression of which sequencesdefines the phenotype of, in the present case, a pepper plant, or a cellor tissue of that plant. A genetic complement thus represents thegenetic makeup of a cell, tissue or plant, and a hybrid geneticcomplement represents the genetic make up of a hybrid cell, tissue orplant. The invention thus provides pepper plant cells that have agenetic complement in accordance with the pepper plant cells disclosedherein, and seeds and plants containing such cells.

Plant genetic complements may be assessed by genetic marker profiles,and by the expression of phenotypic traits that are characteristic ofthe expression of the genetic complement, e.g., isozyme typing profiles.It is understood that hybrid SV6496HJ and/or pepper lines SJR-114-1172and HJAFD13-1292 could be identified by any of the many well knowntechniques such as, for example, Simple Sequence Length Polymorphisms(SSLPs) (Williams et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 1 8:6531-6535, 1990),Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), DNA AmplificationFingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized Amplified Regions (SCARs),Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR), Amplified FragmentLength Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858, specifically incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety), and Single NucleotidePolymorphisms (SNPs) (Wang et al., Science, 280:1077-1082, 1998).

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides hybridgenetic complements, as represented by pepper plant cells, tissues,plants, and seeds, formed by the combination of a haploid geneticcomplement of a pepper plant of the invention with a haploid geneticcomplement of a second pepper plant, preferably, another, distinctpepper plant. In another aspect, the present invention provides a pepperplant regenerated from a tissue culture that comprises a hybrid geneticcomplement of this invention.

Any embodiment discussed herein with respect to one aspect of theinvention applies to other aspects of the invention as well, unlessspecifically noted.

The term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes the standarddeviation of the mean for the device or method being employed todetermine the value. The use of the term “or” in the claims is used tomean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives onlyor the alternatives are mutually exclusive. When used in conjunctionwith the word “comprising” or other open language in the claims, thewords “a” and “an” denote “one or more,” unless specifically notedotherwise. The terms “comprise,” “have” and “include” are open-endedlinking verbs. Any forms or tenses of one or more of these verbs, suchas “comprises,” “comprising,” “has,” “having,” “includes” and“including,” are also open-ended. For example, any method that“comprises,” “has” or “includes” one or more steps is not limited topossessing only those one or more steps and also covers other unlistedsteps. Similarly, any plant that “comprises,” “has” or “includes” one ormore traits is not limited to possessing only those one or more traitsand covers other unlisted traits.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description. It should beunderstood, however, that the detailed description and any specificexamples provided, while indicating specific embodiments of theinvention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changesand modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from this detaileddescription.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides methods and compositions relating to plants,seeds and derivatives of pepper hybrid SV6496HJ, pepper lineSJR-114-1172 and pepper line HJAFD13-1292.

Pepper Hybrid SV6496HJ, also known as “11-FD-JAL-8632” is a jalapenohybrid for the fresh market in Mexico and the U.S. Fruits aremedium-dark green immature, coloring to red, and average 11.5 cm long by4.6 cm wide at the shoulder, with a bullet shape and excellent firmness.The hybrid is tolerant to Phytophthora capsici and resistant to nematode(Meloidogyne incognita). Pungency values average 2,500 Scoville HeatUnits (SHU) on a fresh basis.

Parent line SJR-114-1172 has bullet-shaped fruits that are 12×4.5 cmwith green immature fruits coloring to red and are sweet. Parent lineHJAFD13-1292, has tapered flat fruits that are 10×3 cm with medium greenimmature fruits coloring to red at maturity. They are very hot, withexcellent firmness.

A. Origin and Breeding History of Pepper Hybrid SV6496HJ

The parents of hybrid SV6496HJ are SJR-114-1172 and HJAFD13-1292. Theparent lines are uniform and stable, as is a hybrid produced therefrom.A small percentage of variants can occur within commercially acceptablelimits for almost any characteristic during the course of repeatedmultiplication. However no variants are expected.

B. Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of Pepper HybridSV6496HJ, Pepper Line SJR-114-1172 and Pepper Line HJAFD13-1292

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a plant having the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of pepper hybrid SV6496HJ and the parent lines thereof.A description of the physiological and morphological characteristics ofsuch plants is presented in Table 1-3.

TABLE 1 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of HybridSV6496HJ Tam VeraCruz CHARACTERISTIC SV6496HJ (HJA 960-0008) 1. SpeciesC. annuum C. annuum 2. Maturity (in region of best adaptability) daysfrom transplanting until 46 65 mature green stage days fromtransplanting until 79 80 mature red or yellow stage days from directseeding until 91 110  mature green stage days from direct seeding until123  125  mature red or yellow stage 3. Plant habit semi-spreadingcompact attitude upright/erect (De upright/erect Cayenne, Doux tres longdes Landes, Piquant d'Algerie) plant height (mature fruit) 66.8 cm 67.4cm plant width (mature fruit) 67.4 cm 56.7 cm length of stem fromcotyledon 15.5 cm 11.7 cm to first flower length of the third internode56.7 mm 57.3 mm (from soil surface) length of stem long (Lipari,Marconi, long Rouge long ordinaire) shortened internode (in upperpresent (Feher, Kalocsai present part) 601, Kalocsai 702) For varietieswith shortened more than three more than three internodes only: Plantnumber (Kalocsai 702) of internodes between the first flower and theshortened interodes stem: hairiness of nodes absent or very weak absentor very weak (Arlequin) height tall (Century, Orias) tall basal branchesfew (2-3) few (2-3) branch flexibility willowy (Cayenne Long willowyRed) stem strength (breakage intermediate strong resistance) 4. Leaflength of blade medium (Atol, Blondy, short Marconi, Merit, Anthea)width of blade broad (California narrow wonder, Golden calwonder,Seifor, Solario) width 77.7 mm 51.3 mm length 156.9 mm 116.9 mm petiolelength 81.3 mm 34.7 mm color dark green dark green color (RHS ColorChart value) 147A 137A intensity of green color dark (Dolmy, Tinto) darkmature leaf shape lanceolate (Diavolo, lanceolate Recio) leaf and stempubescence absent absent undulation of margin medium (Tenor) weakblistering medium (Merit) weak profile in cross section moderatelyconcave moderately concave (Doux italien, Favolor) glossiness strong(Andevalo, strong Floridor) 5. Flower peduncle: attitude semi-drooping(Blondy) drooping flowers per leaf axil  1  1 calyx lobes   5.9   5.8petals   5.9   6.3 diameter 21.7 mm 22.9 mm corolla color white whitecorolla throat markings white white anther color purple purple stylelength same as stamen exceeds stamen self-incompatibility absent absent6. Fruit color (before maturity) green (California green wonder, Lamuyo)intensity of color (before dark dark maturity) immature fruit color darkgreen dark green immature fruit color (RHS 147A 147A Color Chart value)attitude/position drooping/pendent (De drooping/pendent Cayenne, Lamuyo)length medium (Feher, short Lamuyo) diameter medium (Doux italien,medium Corno di toro) ratio length/diameter large (Heldor, Lamuyo,medium Magister, Tenno, Vidi) calyx diameter 20.6 mm 19.7 mm fruitlength 91.8 mm 69.0 mm fruit diameter at calyx 32.7 mm 23.4 mmattachment fruit diameter at mid-point 33.7 mm 29.2 mm flesh thicknessat mid-point 4.5 mm 3.8 mm average number of fruits per   38.3   55.9plant % large fruits 50.50% weight range: 8.10% weight range: 40 to 9630 to 38 % medium fruits 39.10% weight range: 47.40% weight range: 20 to39 20 to 29 % small fruits 10.40% weight range: 44.50% weight range: 7to 19 5 to 19 average fruit weight 43.9 gm 25.2 gm fruit shape(longitudinal narrowly triangular (De narrowly triangular section)Cayenne, Demon) fruit shape (cross section, at circular (Cherry Sweet,circular level of placenta) Doux tres long des Landes) sinuation ofpericarp at basal absent or very weak absent or very weak part (Delphin,Kalocsai V-2, Milord) sinuation of pericarp excluding absent or veryweak absent or very weak basal part (Delphin, Milord) texture of surfacesmooth or very slightly strongly wrinkled/rough wrinkled (Milord) color(at maturity) red (Feher, Lamuyo) red intensity of color (at maturity)dark dark mature fruit color red red mature fruit color (RHS Color 183AN34A Chart value) glossiness strong (Doux italien, strong Trophy) stalkcavity absent (Corinto, Como absent di toro, Sweet banana, Sucette deProvence) pedicel length 44.5 mm 24.8 mm pedicel thickness 5.3 mm 3.8 mmpedicel shape curved curved pedicel cavity absent absent stalk: lengthlong (De Cayenne, short Sierra Nevada, Sweet banana) stalk: thicknessmedium (Doux italien, thin Surpas) base shape rounded rounded shape ofapex moderately acute very acute/pointed shape Oblong (Jalapeno) Oblong(Jalapeno) set concentrated concentrated depth of interloculary groovesabsent (De Cayenne) absent number of locules predominately threepredominantly three (Century) % fruits with one locule  0% 0% % fruitswith two locules  0% 0% % fruits with three locules 47% 66.70%   %fruits with four locules 40.00%   33.30%   % fruits with five or more13% 0% locules average number of locules   3.7   3.3 thickness of fleshmedium (Feher, medium Lamuyo) calyx: aspect enveloping (cup- enveloping(cup shaped) (De Cayenne, shaped) Sweet banana) pungency hot hotcapsaicin in placenta present (De Cayenne) present mg Capsaicin per gramdry fruit 0.681 mg 0.050 mg Scoville Units (dry fruit) 10,899    8,970  flavor strong pepper flavor strong pepper flavor glossiness shiny shiny7. Seed seed cavity length 76.9 mm 57.3 mm seed cavity diameter 23.4 mm22.3 mm placenta length 55.6 mm 51.3 mm number of seeds per fruit  164.9  86.1 grams per 1000 seeds 6.0 gm 8.0 gm color yellow yellow 8.Anthocyanin coloration of: hypocotyl strong (Lamuyo) strong stem weakmoderate nodes moderate strong intensity of anthocyanin strong (Piquantstrong coloration of nodes d'Algerie, Zarai) leaf weak weak pedicelabsent weak calyx absent absent anther present (Lamuyo) presentbeginning of flowering (1^(st) early (Carre doux extra medium flower on2^(nd) flowering node) hatif, Cupido, Feher, Flaviano, Lito, Trophy)time of maturity early (Feher, Lady Bell, early Topgirl) *These aretypical values. Values may vary due to environment. Other values thatare substantially equivalent are also within the scope of the invention.

TABLE 2 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of LineSJR-114-1172 CHARACTERISTIC SJR-114-1172 Tarn VeraCruz 1. Species C.annuum C. annuum 2. Maturity (in region of best adaptability) days fromtransplanting until 53 45 mature green stage days from transplantinguntil 99 99 mature red or yellow stage days from direct seeding until 9688 mature green stage days from direct seeding until 142  142  maturered or yellow stage 3. Plant habit compact compact attitudeupright/erect (De upright/erect Cayenne, Doux tres long des Landes,Piquant d'Algerie) plant height 58.3 cm 42.1 cm plant width 32.4 cm 32.7cm length of stem from cotyledon 24.2 cm 19.7 cm to first flower lengthof the third internode 96 mm 110.6 mm (from soil surface) length of stemmedium (Belsir, short Lamuyo) shortened internode (in upper present(Feher, Kalocsai present part) 601, Kalocsai 702) For varieties withshortened more than three more than three internodes only: Plant number(Kalocsai 702) of internodes between the first flower and the shortenedinterodes stem: hairiness of nodes absent or very weak absent or veryweak (Arlequin) height tall (Century, Orias) short basal branches few(2-3) none branch flexibility willowy (Cayenne Long willowy Red) stemstrength (breakage strong strong resistance) 4. Leaf length of bladelong (Cupido, Dolmy, long Encore, Mazurka, Monte width of blade broad(California medium wonder, Golden calwonder, Seifor, Solario) width 67.7mm 45.4 mm length 94 mm 102.8 mm petiole length 43.8 mm 50.4 mm colordark green medium green color (RHS Color Chart value) 137A 137Bintensity of green color dark (Dolmy, Tinto) medium mature leaf shapeovate (Balico, Sonar) lanceolate leaf and stem pubescence absent absentundulation of margin medium (Tenor) very weak blistering medium (Merit)very weak profile in cross section strongly concave strongly concave(Slavy) glossiness weak (De Cayenne, weak Doux tres long des Landes) 5.Flower peduncle: attitude drooping (Heldor, semi-drooping Lamuyo)flowers per leaf axil  1   1.2 calyx lobes  7   5.4 petals  6   5.8diameter 24.4 mm 22.8 mm corolla color white white corolla throatmarkings white white style length exceeds stamen exceeds stamen self-incompatibility present present 6. Fruit group Jalapeno (Jalapeno)Jalapeno (Jalapeno) color (before maturity) green (California greenwonder, Lamuyo) intensity of color (before dark medium maturity)immature fruit color dark green medium green immature fruit color (RHS137A 143A Color Chart value) attitude/position drooping/pendent (Dedrooping/pendent Cayenne, Lamuyo) length long (Doux d'Espagne, mediumMajister) diameter medium (Doux italien, medium Corno di toro) ratiolength/diameter large (Heldor, Lamuyo, medium Magister, Tenno, Vidi)calyx diameter 21.1 mm 17.5 mm fruit length 94.6 mm 68.5 mm fruitdiameter at calyx 26.5 mm 20.4 mm attachment fruit diameter at mid-point31.9 mm 25.3 mm flesh thickness at mid-point 3.1 mm 3.7 mm averagenumber of fruits per   19.9   39.5 plant % large fruits 19.30% weightrange: 15.10% weight range: 31 to 60 21 to 40 % medium fruits 34.70%weight range: 57.10% weight range: 20 to 30 11 to 20 % small fruits45.80% weight range: 27.60% weight range: 1 to 19 1 to 10 average fruitweight 21.8 gm 14.5 gm fruit shape (longitudinal narrowly triangular (Denarrowly triangular section) Cayenne, Demon) fruit shape (cross section,at circular (Cherry Sweet, circular level of placenta) Doux tres longdes Landes) sinuation of pericarp at basal absent or very weak absent orvery weak part (Delphin, Kalocsai V-2, Milord) sinuation of pericarpexcluding absent or very weak absent or very weak basal part (Delphin,Milord) texture of surface smooth or very slightly smooth or verywrinkled (Milord) slightly wrinkled color (at maturity) red (Feher,Lamuyo) red intensity of color (at maturity) dark dark mature fruitcolor red red mature fruit color (RHS Color 46A 44A Chart value)glossiness medium/moderate medium/moderate (Carre doux extra hatif,Lamuyo, Sonar) stalk cavity absent (Corinto, Como absent di toro, Sweetbanana, Sucette de Provence) pedicel length 21.8 mm 20.5 mm pedicelthickness 4.3 mm 4 mm pedicel shape curved curved pedicel cavity absentabsent stalk: length medium (Feher, Sonar) medium stalk: thicknessmedium (Doux italien, medium Surpas) base shape rounded rounded shape ofapex very acute/pointed (De moderately acute Cayenne, Hot chili) shapeOblong (Jalapeno) Oblong (Jalapeno) set scattered scattered depth ofinterloculary grooves very shallow absent % fruits with one locule 0% 0%% fruits with two locules 0% 0% % fruits with three locules 0% 40%  %fruits with four locules 100%  60%  % fruits with five or more 0% 0%locules average number of locules  4   3.6 thickness of flesh medium(Feher, medium Lamuyo) calyx: aspect enveloping (cup- enveloping (cupshaped) (De Cayenne, shaped) Sweet banana) pungency sweet hot capsaicinin placenta absent (Sonar) present mg Capsaicin per gram dry fruit 0 mg0.62 mg Scoville Units (dry fruit)  0 8,970   flavor strong pepperflavor strong pepper flavor glossiness shiny shiny 7. Seed seed cavitylength 85.9 mm 56.9 mm seed cavity diameter 29 mm 19.2 mm placentalength 53.2 mm 41.5 mm number of seeds per fruit   34.4 64 grams per1000 seeds 4 gm 4 gm color yellow yellow 8. Anthocyanin coloration of:hypocotyl moderate moderate stem strong strong nodes strong (Californiastrong wonder) intensity of anthocyanin strong (Piquant very strongcoloration of nodes d'Algerie, Zarai) leaf absent absent pedicel absentweak calyx absent absent CHARACTERISTIC SJR-114-1172 Tarn VeraCruzbeginning of flowering (1^(st) late (Daniel, Piquant late flower on2^(nd) flowering node) d'Algerie, Zingaro) time of maturity late(Daniel, Doux late d'Espagne) *These are typical values. Values may varydue to environment. Other values that are substantially equivalent arealso within the scope of the invention.

TABLE 3 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of LineHJAFD13-1292 Tarn VeraCruz CHARACTERISTIC HJAFD13-1292 (HJA 960-0008) 1.Species C. annuum C. annuum 2. Maturity (in region of best adaptability)days from transplanting until 57 65 mature green stage days fromtransplanting until 80 80 mature red or yellow stage days from directseeding until 102  110  mature green stage days from direct seedinguntil 124  125  mature red or yellow stage 3. Plant habit semi-spreadingcompact attitude upright/erect (De upright/erect Cayenne, Doux tres longdes Landes, Piquant d'Algerie) plant height (immature/green 50.4 cm 60.9cm fruit) plant height (mature fruit) 62.5 cm 67.4 cm plant width(immature/green 57.3 cm 51.2 cm fruit) plant width (mature fruit) 58.5cm 56.7 cm length of stem from cotyledon 14.3 cm 11.7 cm to first flowerlength of the third internode 60.0 mm 57.3 mm (from soil surface) lengthof stem long (Lipari, Marconi, long Rouge long ordinaire) shortenedinternode (in upper present (Feher, Kalocsai present part) 601, Kalocsai702) For varieties with shortened more than three more than threeinternodes only: Plant number (Kalocsai 702) of internodes between thefirst flower and the shortened interodes stem: hairiness of nodes absentor very weak absent or very weak (Arlequin) height tall (Century, Orias)tall basal branches none few (2-3) branch flexibility willowy (CayenneLong willowy Red) stem strength (breakage strong strong resistance) 4.Leaf length of blade short (De Cayenne, short Szentesi) width of bladenarrow (De Cayenne, narrow Pusztagold, Szentesi cseresznye) width 59.5mm 51.3 mm length 129.3 mm 116.9 mm petiole length 63.4 mm 34.7 mm colordark green dark green color (RHS Color Chart value) 147A 137A intensityof green color dark (Dolmy, Tinto) dark mature leaf shape lanceolate(Diavolo, lanceolate Recio) leaf and stem pubescence absent absentundulation of margin medium (Tenor) weak blistering weak (Pusztagold)weak profile in cross section moderately concave moderately concave(Doux italien, Favolor) glossiness strong (Andevalo, strong Floridor) 5.Flower peduncle: attitude drooping (Heldor, drooping Lamuyo) flowers perleaf axil   1.7  1 calyx lobes  6   5.8 petals  6   6.3 diameter 21.1 mm22.9 mm corolla color white white corolla throat markings white whiteanther color purple purple style length same as stamen exceeds stamenself- incompatibility absent absent 6. Fruit color (before maturity)green (California green wonder, Lamuyo) intensity of color (before darkdark maturity) immature fruit color dark green dark green immature fruitcolor (RHS 137A 147A Color Chart value) attitude/positiondrooping/pendent (De drooping/pendent Cayenne, Lamuyo) length short(Delphin, Petit short carre doux) diameter medium (Doux italien, mediumCorno di toro) ratio length/diameter medium (Adra, Cherry medium Sweet,Daniel, Delphin, Edino) calyx diameter 21.9 mm 19.7 mm fruit length 68.0mm 69.0 mm fruit diameter at calyx 26.6 mm 23.4 mm attachment fruitdiameter at mid-point 26.4 mm 29.2 mm flesh thickness at mid-point 5.1mm 3.8 mm average number of fruits per   39.7   55.9 plant % largefruits 31.30% weight range: 8.10% weight range: 30 to 40 30 to 38 %medium fruits 40.70% weight range: 47.40% weight range: 20 to 29 20 to29 % small fruits 28.00% weight range: 44.50% weight range: 4 to 19 5 to19 average fruit weight 28.3 gm 25.2 gm fruit shape (longitudinalnarrowly triangular (De narrowly triangular section) Cayenne, Demon)fruit shape (cross section, at circular (Cherry Sweet, circular level ofplacenta) Doux tres long des Landes) sinuation of pericarp at basalabsent or very weak absent or very weak part (Delphin, Kalocsai V-2,Milord) sinuation of pericarp excluding absent or very weak absent orvery weak basal part (Delphin, Milord) texture of surface smooth or veryslightly strongly wrinkled/rough wrinkled (Milord) color (at maturity)red (Feher, Lamuyo) red intensity of color (at maturity) dark darkmature fruit color red red mature fruit color (RHS Color N34A N34A Chartvalue) glossiness medium/moderate strong (Carre doux extra hatif,Lamuyo, Sonar) stalk cavity absent (Corinto, Como absent di toro, Sweetbanana, Sucette de Provence) pedicel length 51.8 mm 24.8 mm pedicelthickness 4.9 mm 3.8 mm pedicel shape curved curved pedicel cavityabsent absent stalk: length medium (Feher, Sonar) short stalk: thicknessthin (Sweet banana) thin base shape rounded rounded shape of apexmoderately acute very acute/pointed shape Oblong (Jalapeno) Oblong(Jalapeno) set concentrated concentrated depth of interloculary groovesabsent (De Cayenne) absent number of locules predominately threepredominantly three (Century) % fruits with one locule 0% 0% % fruitswith two locules 0% 0% % fruits with three locules 53%  66.70%    %fruits with four locules 46.70%    33.30%    % fruits with five or more0% 0% locules average number of locules   3.5   3.3 thickness of fleshmedium (Feher, medium Lamuyo) calyx: aspect enveloping (cup- enveloping(cup shaped) (De Cayenne, shaped) Sweet banana) pungency hot hotcapsaicin in placenta present (De Cayenne) present mg Capsaicin per gramdry fruit 1.55 mg 0.050 mg Scoville Units (dry fruit) 24,359    775 flavor moderate pepper flavor strong pepper flavor glossiness shinyshiny 7. Seed seed cavity length 55.0 mm 57.3 mm seed cavity diameter20.4 mm 22.3 mm placenta length 43.4 mm 51.3 mm number of seeds perfruit  118.5   86.1 grams per 1000 seeds 6.0 gm 8.0 gm color yellowyellow 8. Anthocyanin coloration of: hypocotyl moderate strong stemmoderate moderate nodes moderate strong intensity of anthocyanin strong(Piquant strong coloration of nodes d'Algerie, Zarai) leaf absent weakpedicel weak weak calyx absent absent anther present (Lamuyo) presentbeginning of flowering (1^(st) medium (Lamuyo, medium flower on 2^(nd)flowering node) Latino time of maturity early (Feher, Lady Bell, earlyTopgirl) *These are typical values. Values may vary due to environment.Other values that are substantially equivalent are also within the scopeof the invention.

C. Breeding Pepper Plants

One aspect of the current invention concerns methods for producing seedof pepper hybrid SV6496HJ involving crossing pepper lines SJR-114-1172and HJAFD13-1292. Alternatively, in other embodiments of the invention,hybrid SV6496HJ, line SJR-114-1172, or line HJAFD13-1292 may be crossedwith itself or with any second plant. Such methods can be used forpropagation of hybrid SV6496HJ and/or the pepper lines SJR-114-1172 andHJAFD13-1292, or can be used to produce plants that are derived fromhybrid SV6496HJ and/or the pepper lines SJR-114-1172 and HJAFD13-1292.Plants derived from hybrid SV6496HJ and/or the pepper lines SJR-114-1172and HJAFD13-1292 may be used, in certain embodiments, for thedevelopment of new pepper varieties.

The development of new varieties using one or more starting varieties iswell known in the art. In accordance with the invention, novel varietiesmay be created by crossing hybrid SV6496HJ followed by multiplegenerations of breeding according to such well known methods. Newvarieties may be created by crossing with any second plant. In selectingsuch a second plant to cross for the purpose of developing novel lines,it may be desired to choose those plants which either themselves exhibitone or more selected desirable characteristics or which exhibit thedesired characteristic(s) when in hybrid combination. Once initialcrosses have been made, inbreeding and selection take place to producenew varieties. For development of a uniform line, often five or moregenerations of selfing and selection are involved.

Uniform lines of new varieties may also be developed by way ofdouble-haploids. This technique allows the creation of true breedinglines without the need for multiple generations of selfing andselection. In this manner true breeding lines can be produced in aslittle as one generation. Haploid embryos may be produced frommicrospores, pollen, anther cultures, or ovary cultures. The haploidembryos may then be doubled autonomously, or by chemical treatments(e.g. colchicine treatment). Alternatively, haploid embryos may be growninto haploid plants and treated to induce chromosome doubling. In eithercase, fertile homozygous plants are obtained. In accordance with theinvention, any of such techniques may be used in connection with a plantof the invention and progeny thereof to achieve a homozygous line.

Backcrossing can also be used to improve an inbred plant. Backcrossingtransfers a specific desirable trait from one inbred or non-inbredsource to an inbred that lacks that trait. This can be accomplished, forexample, by first crossing a superior inbred (A) (recurrent parent) to adonor inbred (non-recurrent parent), which carries the appropriate locusor loci for the trait in question. The progeny of this cross are thenmated back to the superior recurrent parent (A) followed by selection inthe resultant progeny for the desired trait to be transferred from thenon-recurrent parent. After five or more backcross generations withselection for the desired trait, the progeny have the characteristicbeing transferred, but are like the superior parent for most or almostall other loci. The last backcross generation would be selfed to givepure breeding progeny for the trait being transferred.

The plants of the present invention are particularly well suited for thedevelopment of new lines based on the elite nature of the geneticbackground of the plants. In selecting a second plant to cross withSV6496HJ and/or pepper lines SJR-114-1172 and HJAFD13-1292 for thepurpose of developing novel pepper lines, it will typically be preferredto choose those plants which either themselves exhibit one or moreselected desirable characteristics or which exhibit the desiredcharacteristic(s) when in hybrid combination. Examples of desirabletraits may include, in specific embodiments, high seed yield, high seedgermination, seedling vigor, high fruit yield, disease tolerance orresistance, and adaptability for soil and climate conditions.Consumer-driven traits, such as a fruit shape, color, texture, and tasteare other examples of traits that may be incorporated into new lines ofpepper plants developed by this invention.

D. Further Embodiments of the Invention

In certain aspects of the invention, plants described herein areprovided modified to include at least a first desired heritable trait.Such plants may, in one embodiment, be developed by a plant breedingtechnique called backcrossing, wherein essentially all of themorphological and physiological characteristics of a variety arerecovered in addition to a genetic locus transferred into the plant viathe backcrossing technique. The term single locus converted plant asused herein refers to those pepper plants which are developed by a plantbreeding technique called backcrossing, wherein essentially all of themorphological and physiological characteristics of a variety arerecovered in addition to the single locus transferred into the varietyvia the backcrossing technique. By essentially all of the morphologicaland physiological characteristics, it is meant that the characteristicsof a plant are recovered that are otherwise present when compared in thesame environment, other than an occasional variant trait that mightarise during backcrossing or direct introduction of a transgene.

Backcrossing methods can be used with the present invention to improveor introduce a characteristic into the present variety. The parentalpepper plant which contributes the locus for the desired characteristicis termed the nonrecurrent or donor parent. This terminology refers tothe fact that the nonrecurrent parent is used one time in the backcrossprotocol and therefore does not recur. The parental pepper plant towhich the locus or loci from the nonrecurrent parent are transferred isknown as the recurrent parent as it is used for several rounds in thebackcrossing protocol.

In a typical backcross protocol, the original variety of interest(recurrent parent) is crossed to a second variety (nonrecurrent parent)that carries the single locus of interest to be transferred. Theresulting progeny from this cross are then crossed again to therecurrent parent and the process is repeated until a pepper plant isobtained wherein essentially all of the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of the recurrent parent are recovered in the convertedplant, in addition to the single transferred locus from the nonrecurrentparent.

The selection of a suitable recurrent parent is an important step for asuccessful backcrossing procedure. The goal of a backcross protocol isto alter or substitute a single trait or characteristic in the originalvariety. To accomplish this, a single locus of the recurrent variety ismodified or substituted with the desired locus from the nonrecurrentparent, while retaining essentially all of the rest of the desiredgenetic, and therefore the desired physiological and morphologicalconstitution of the original variety. The choice of the particularnonrecurrent parent will depend on the purpose of the backcross; one ofthe major purposes is to add some commercially desirable trait to theplant. The exact backcrossing protocol will depend on the characteristicor trait being altered and the genetic distance between the recurrentand nonrecurrent parents. Although backcrossing methods are simplifiedwhen the characteristic being transferred is a dominant allele, arecessive allele, or an additive allele (between recessive anddominant), may also be transferred. In this instance it may be necessaryto introduce a test of the progeny to determine if the desiredcharacteristic has been successfully transferred.

In one embodiment, progeny pepper plants of a backcross in which a plantdescribed herein is the recurrent parent comprise (i) the desired traitfrom the non-recurrent parent and (ii) all of the physiological andmorphological characteristics of pepper the recurrent parent asdetermined at the 5% significance level when grown in the sameenvironmental conditions.

New varieties can also be developed from more than two parents. Thetechnique, known as modified backcrossing, uses different recurrentparents during the backcrossing. Modified backcrossing may be used toreplace the original recurrent parent with a variety having certain moredesirable characteristics or multiple parents may be used to obtaindifferent desirable characteristics from each.

With the development of molecular markers associated with particulartraits, it is possible to add additional traits into an established germline, such as represented here, with the end result being substantiallythe same base germplasm with the addition of a new trait or traits.Molecular breeding, as described in Moose and Mumm, 2008 (PlantPhysiology, 147: 969-977), for example, and elsewhere, provides amechanism for integrating single or multiple traits or QTL into an eliteline. This molecular breeding-facilitated movement of a trait or traitsinto an elite line may encompass incorporation of a particular genomicfragment associated with a particular trait of interest into the eliteline by the mechanism of identification of the integrated genomicfragment with the use of flanking or associated marker assays. In theembodiment represented here, one, two, three or four genomic loci, forexample, may be integrated into an elite line via this methodology. Whenthis elite line containing the additional loci is further crossed withanother parental elite line to produce hybrid offspring, it is possibleto then incorporate at least eight separate additional loci into thehybrid. These additional loci may confer, for example, such traits as adisease resistance or a fruit quality trait. In one embodiment, eachlocus may confer a separate trait. In another embodiment, loci may needto be homozygous and exist in each parent line to confer a trait in thehybrid. In yet another embodiment, multiple loci may be combined toconfer a single robust phenotype of a desired trait.

Many single locus traits have been identified that are not regularlyselected for in the development of a new inbred but that can be improvedby backcrossing techniques. Single locus traits may or may not betransgenic; examples of these traits include, but are not limited to,herbicide resistance, resistance to bacterial, fungal, or viral disease,insect resistance, modified fatty acid or carbohydrate metabolism, andaltered nutritional quality. These comprise genes generally inheritedthrough the nucleus.

Direct selection may be applied where the single locus acts as adominant trait. For this selection process, the progeny of the initialcross are assayed for viral resistance and/or the presence of thecorresponding gene prior to the backcrossing. Selection eliminates anyplants that do not have the desired gene and resistance trait, and onlythose plants that have the trait are used in the subsequent backcross.This process is then repeated for all additional backcross generations.

Selection of pepper plants for breeding is not necessarily dependent onthe phenotype of a plant and instead can be based on geneticinvestigations. For example, one can utilize a suitable genetic markerwhich is closely genetically linked to a trait of interest. One of thesemarkers can be used to identify the presence or absence of a trait inthe offspring of a particular cross, and can be used in selection ofprogeny for continued breeding. This technique is commonly referred toas marker assisted selection. Any other type of genetic marker or otherassay which is able to identify the relative presence or absence of atrait of interest in a plant can also be useful for breeding purposes.Procedures for marker assisted selection are well known in the art. Suchmethods will be of particular utility in the case of recessive traitsand variable phenotypes, or where conventional assays may be moreexpensive, time consuming or otherwise disadvantageous. Types of geneticmarkers which could be used in accordance with the invention include,but are not necessarily limited to, Simple Sequence Length Polymorphisms(SSLPs) (Williams et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 1 8:6531-6535, 1990),Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), DNA AmplificationFingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized Amplified Regions (SCARs),Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR), Amplified FragmentLength Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858, specifically incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety), and Single NucleotidePolymorphisms (SNPs) (Wang et al., Science, 280:1077-1082, 1998).

E. Plants Derived by Genetic Engineering

Many useful traits that can be introduced by backcrossing, as well asdirectly into a plant, are those which are introduced by genetictransformation techniques. Genetic transformation may therefore be usedto insert a selected transgene into a plant of the invention or may,alternatively, be used for the preparation of transgenes which can beintroduced by backcrossing. Methods for the transformation of plantsthat are well known to those of skill in the art and applicable to manycrop species include, but are not limited to, electroporation,microprojectile bombardment, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation anddirect DNA uptake by protoplasts.

To effect transformation by electroporation, one may employ eitherfriable tissues, such as a suspension culture of cells or embryogeniccallus or alternatively one may transform immature embryos or otherorganized tissue directly. In this technique, one would partiallydegrade the cell walls of the chosen cells by exposing them topectin-degrading enzymes (pectolyases) or mechanically wound tissues ina controlled manner.

An efficient method for delivering transforming DNA segments to plantcells is microprojectile bombardment. In this method, particles arecoated with nucleic acids and delivered into cells by a propellingforce. Exemplary particles include those comprised of tungsten,platinum, and preferably, gold. For the bombardment, cells in suspensionare concentrated on filters or solid culture medium. Alternatively,immature embryos or other target cells may be arranged on solid culturemedium. The cells to be bombarded are positioned at an appropriatedistance below the macroprojectile stopping plate.

An illustrative embodiment of a method for delivering DNA into plantcells by acceleration is the Biolistics Particle Delivery System, whichcan be used to propel particles coated with DNA or cells through ascreen, such as a stainless steel or Nytex screen, onto a surfacecovered with target cells. The screen disperses the particles so thatthey are not delivered to the recipient cells in large aggregates.Microprojectile bombardment techniques are widely applicable, and may beused to transform virtually any plant species.

Agrobacterium-mediated transfer is another widely applicable system forintroducing gene loci into plant cells. An advantage of the technique isthat DNA can be introduced into whole plant tissues, thereby bypassingthe need for regeneration of an intact plant from a protoplast. ModernAgrobacterium transformation vectors are capable of replication in E.coli as well as Agrobacterium, allowing for convenient manipulations(Klee et al., Bio-Technology, 3(7):637-642, 1985). Moreover, recenttechnological advances in vectors for Agrobacterium-mediated genetransfer have improved the arrangement of genes and restriction sites inthe vectors to facilitate the construction of vectors capable ofexpressing various polypeptide coding genes. The vectors described haveconvenient multi-linker regions flanked by a promoter and apolyadenylation site for direct expression of inserted polypeptidecoding genes. Additionally, Agrobacterium containing both armed anddisarmed Ti genes can be used for transformation.

In those plant strains where Agrobacterium-mediated transformation isefficient, it is the method of choice because of the facile and definednature of the gene locus transfer. The use of Agrobacterium-mediatedplant integrating vectors to introduce DNA into plant cells is wellknown in the art (Fraley et al., Bio/Technology, 3:629-635, 1985; U.S.Pat. No. 5,563,055).

Transformation of plant protoplasts also can be achieved using methodsbased on calcium phosphate precipitation, polyethylene glycol treatment,electroporation, and combinations of these treatments (see, e.g.,Potrykus et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 199:183-188, 1985; Omirulleh et al.,Plant Mol. Biol., 21(3):415-428, 1993; Fromm et al., Nature,312:791-793, 1986; Uchimiya et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 204:204, 1986;Marcotte et al., Nature, 335:454, 1988). Transformation of plants andexpression of foreign genetic elements is exemplified in Choi et al.(Plant Cell Rep., 13: 344-348, 1994), and Ellul et al. (Theon. Appl.Genet., 107:462-469, 2003).

A number of promoters have utility for plant gene expression for anygene of interest including but not limited to selectable markers,scoreable markers, genes for pest tolerance, disease resistance,nutritional enhancements and any other gene of agronomic interest.Examples of constitutive promoters useful for plant gene expressioninclude, but are not limited to, the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV)P-35S promoter, which confers constitutive, high-level expression inmost plant tissues (see, e.g., Odel et al., Nature, 313:810, 1985),including in monocots (see, e.g., Dekeyser et al., Plant Cell, 2:591,1990; Terada and Shimamoto, Mol. Gen. Genet., 220:389, 1990); a tandemlyduplicated version of the CaMV 35S promoter, the enhanced 35S promoter(P-e35S); 1 the nopaline synthase promoter (An et al., Plant Physiol.,88:547, 1988); the octopine synthase promoter (Fromm et al., Plant Cell,1:977, 1989); and the figwort mosaic virus (P-FMV) promoter as describedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,619 and an enhanced version of the FMV promoter(P-eFMV) where the promoter sequence of P-FMV is duplicated in tandem;the cauliflower mosaic virus 19S promoter; a sugarcane bacilliform viruspromoter; a commelina yellow mottle virus promoter; and other plant DNAvirus promoters known to express in plant cells.

A variety of plant gene promoters that are regulated in response toenvironmental, hormonal, chemical, and/or developmental signals can alsobe used for expression of an operably linked gene in plant cells,including promoters regulated by (1) heat (Callis et al., PlantPhysiol., 88:965, 1988), (2) light (e.g., pea rbcS-3A promoter,Kuhlemeier et al., Plant Cell, 1:471, 1989; maize rbcS promoter,Schaffner and Sheen, Plant Cell, 3:997, 1991; or chlorophyll a/b-bindingprotein promoter, Simpson et al., EMBO J., 4:2723, 1985), (3) hormones,such as abscisic acid (Marcotte et al., Plant Cell, 1:969, 1989), (4)wounding (e.g., wunl, Siebertz et al., Plant Cell, 1:961, 1989); or (5)chemicals such as methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, or Safener. It mayalso be advantageous to employ organ-specific promoters (e.g., Roshal etal., EMBO J., 6:1155, 1987; Schernthaner et al., EMBO J., 7:1249, 1988;Bustos et al., Plant Cell, 1:839, 1989).

Exemplary nucleic acids which may be introduced to plants of thisinvention include, for example, DNA sequences or genes from anotherspecies, or even genes or sequences which originate with or are presentin the same species, but are incorporated into recipient cells bygenetic engineering methods rather than classical reproduction orbreeding techniques. However, the term “exogenous” is also intended torefer to genes that are not normally present in the cell beingtransformed, or perhaps simply not present in the form, structure, etc.,as found in the transforming DNA segment or gene, or genes which arenormally present and that one desires to express in a manner thatdiffers from the natural expression pattern, e.g., to over-express.Thus, the term “exogenous” gene or DNA is intended to refer to any geneor DNA segment that is introduced into a recipient cell, regardless ofwhether a similar gene may already be present in such a cell. The typeof DNA included in the exogenous DNA can include DNA which is alreadypresent in the plant cell, DNA from another plant, DNA from a differentorganism, or a DNA generated externally, such as a DNA sequencecontaining an antisense message of a gene, or a DNA sequence encoding asynthetic or modified version of a gene.

Many hundreds if not thousands of different genes are known and couldpotentially be introduced into a pepper plant according to theinvention. Non-limiting examples of particular genes and correspondingphenotypes one may choose to introduce into a pepper plant include oneor more genes for insect tolerance, such as a Bacillus thuringiensis(B.t.) gene, pest tolerance such as genes for fungal disease control,herbicide tolerance such as genes conferring glyphosate tolerance, andgenes for quality improvements such as yield, nutritional enhancements,environmental or stress tolerances, or any desirable changes in plantphysiology, growth, development, morphology or plant product(s). Forexample, structural genes would include any gene that confers insecttolerance including but not limited to a Bacillus insect control proteingene as described in WO 99/31248, herein incorporated by reference inits entirety, U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,052, herein incorporated by referencein its entirety, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,500,365 and 5,880,275, hereinincorporated by reference in their entirety. In another embodiment, thestructural gene can confer tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate asconferred by genes including, but not limited to Agrobacterium strainCP4 glyphosate resistant EPSPS gene (aroA:CP4) as described in U.S. Pat.No. 5,633,435, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, orglyphosate oxidoreductase gene (GOX) as described in U.S. Pat. No.5,463,175, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Alternatively, the DNA coding sequences can affect these phenotypes byencoding a non-translatable RNA molecule that causes the targetedinhibition of expression of an endogenous gene, for example viaantisense- or cosuppression-mediated mechanisms (see, for example, Birdet al., Biotech. Gen. Engin. Rev., 9:207, 1991). The RNA could also be acatalytic RNA molecule (i.e., a ribozyme) engineered to cleave a desiredendogenous mRNA product (see for example, Gibson and Shillito, Mol.Biotech., 7:125, 1997). Thus, any gene which produces a protein or mRNAwhich expresses a phenotype or morphology change of interest is usefulfor the practice of the present invention.

F. Definitions

In the description and tables herein, a number of terms are used. Inorder to provide a clear and consistent understanding of thespecification and claims, the following definitions are provided:

Allele: Any of one or more alternative forms of a gene locus, all ofwhich alleles relate to one trait or characteristic. In a diploid cellor organism, the two alleles of a given gene occupy corresponding locion a pair of homologous chromosomes.

Backcrossing: A process in which a breeder repeatedly crosses hybridprogeny, for example a first generation hybrid (F₁), back to one of theparents of the hybrid progeny. Backcrossing can be used to introduce oneor more single locus conversions from one genetic background intoanother.

Crossing: The mating of two parent plants.

Cross-pollination: Fertilization by the union of two gametes fromdifferent plants.

Diploid: A cell or organism having two sets of chromosomes.

Emasculate: The removal of plant male sex organs or the inactivation ofthe organs with a cytoplasmic or nuclear genetic factor or a chemicalagent conferring male sterility.

Enzymes: Molecules which can act as catalysts in biological reactions.

F₁ Hybrid: The first generation progeny of the cross of two nonisogenicplants.

Genotype: The genetic constitution of a cell or organism.

Haploid: A cell or organism having one set of the two sets ofchromosomes in a diploid.

Linkage: A phenomenon wherein alleles on the same chromosome tend tosegregate together more often than expected by chance if theirtransmission was independent.

Marker: A readily detectable phenotype, preferably inherited incodominant fashion (both alleles at a locus in a diploid heterozygoteare readily detectable), with no environmental variance component, i.e.,heritability of 1.

Phenotype: The detectable characteristics of a cell or organism, whichcharacteristics are the manifestation of gene expression.

Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL): Quantitative trait loci (QTL) refer togenetic loci that control to some degree numerically representabletraits that are usually continuously distributed.

Resistance: As used herein, the terms “resistance” and “tolerance” areused interchangeably to describe plants that show no symptoms to aspecified biotic pest, pathogen, abiotic influence or environmentalcondition. These terms are also used to describe plants showing somesymptoms but that are still able to produce marketable product with anacceptable yield. Some plants that are referred to as resistant ortolerant are only so in the sense that they may still produce a crop,even though the plants are stunted and the yield is reduced.

Regeneration: The development of a plant from tissue culture.

Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) color chart value: The RHS color chartis a standardized reference which allows accurate identification of anycolor. A color's designation on the chart describes its hue, brightnessand saturation. A color is precisely named by the RHS color chart byidentifying the group name, sheet number and letter, e.g., Yellow-OrangeGroup 19A or Red Group 41B.

Self-pollination: The transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigmaof the same plant.

Single Locus Converted (Conversion) Plant: Plants which are developed bya plant breeding technique called backcrossing, wherein essentially allof the morphological and physiological characteristics of a peppervariety are recovered in addition to the characteristics of the singlelocus transferred into the variety via the backcrossing technique and/orby genetic transformation.

Substantially Equivalent: A characteristic that, when compared, does notshow a statistically significant difference (e.g., p=0.05) from themean.

Tissue Culture: A composition comprising isolated cells of the same or adifferent type or a collection of such cells organized into parts of aplant.

Transgene: A genetic locus comprising a sequence which has beenintroduced into the genome of a pepper plant by transformation.

G. Deposit Information

A deposit of pepper hybrid SV6496HJ and inbred parent lines SJR-114-1172and HJAFD13-1292, disclosed above and recited in the claims, has beenmade with the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), 10801 UniversityBlvd., Manassas, Va. 20110-2209. The date of deposit was Feb. 2, 2016.The accession numbers for those deposited seeds of pepper hybridSV6496HJ and inbred parent lines SJR-114-1172 and HJAFD13-1292 are ATCCAccession No. PTA-122822, ATCC Accession No. PTA-122821, and ATCCAccession No. PTA-122819, respectively. Upon issuance of a patent, allrestrictions upon the deposits will be removed, and the deposits areintended to meet all of the requirements of 37 C.F.R. §1.801-1.809. Thedeposits will be maintained in the depository for a period of 30 years,or 5 years after the last request, or for the effective life of thepatent, whichever is longer, and will be replaced if necessary duringthat period.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail byway of illustration and example for purposes of clarity andunderstanding, it will be obvious that certain changes and modificationsmay be practiced within the scope of the invention, as limited only bythe scope of the appended claims.

All references cited herein are hereby expressly incorporated herein byreference.

What is claimed is:
 1. A pepper plant comprising at least a first set ofthe chromosomes of pepper line SJR-114-1172 or pepper line HJAFD13-1292,a sample of seed of said lines having been deposited under ATCCAccession Number PTA-122821 and ATCC Accession Number PTA-122819,respectively.
 2. A pepper seed that produces the pepper plant ofclaim
 1. 3. The plant of claim 1, which is an inbred.
 4. The plant ofclaim 1, which is a hybrid.
 5. The seed of claim 2, which is an inbred.6. The seed of claim 2, which is a hybrid.
 7. The plant of claim 4,wherein the hybrid plant is pepper hybrid SV6496HJ, a sample of seed ofsaid hybrid SV6496HJ having been deposited under ATCC Accession NumberPTA-122822.
 8. The seed of claim 6, defined as a seed of pepper hybridSV6496HJ, a sample of seed of said hybrid SV6496HJ having been depositedunder ATCC Accession Number PTA-122822.
 9. The seed of claim 2, definedas a seed of line SJR-114-1172 or line HJAFD13-1292.
 10. A plant part ofthe plant of claim
 1. 11. The plant part of claim 10, further defined asa leaf, an ovule, pollen, a fruit, or a cell.
 12. A pepper plant havingall the physiological and morphological characteristics of the pepperplant of claim
 7. 13. A tissue culture of regenerable cells of the plantof claim
 1. 14. The tissue culture according to claim 13, comprisingcells or protoplasts from a plant part selected from the groupconsisting of embyros, meristems, cotyledons, pollen, leaves, anthers,roots, root tips, pistil, flower, seed and stalks, wherein said cells orprotoplasts comprise at least a first set of the chromosomes of saidpepper line SJR-114-1172 or pepper line HJAFD13-1292.
 15. A pepper plantregenerated from the tissue culture of claim 13, wherein said plant hasall the physiological and morphological characteristics of the pepperplant comprising at least a first set of the chromosomes of pepper lineSJR-114-1172 or pepper line HJAFD13-1292, a sample of seed of said lineshaving been deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-122821 and ATCCAccession Number PTA-122819, respectively.
 16. A method of vegetativelypropagating the pepper plant of claim 1, the method comprising the stepsof: (a) collecting tissue capable of being propagated from the plantaccording to claim 1; (b) cultivating said tissue to obtain proliferatedshoots; and (c) rooting said proliferated shoots to obtain rootedplantlets.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising growing atleast a first pepper plant from said rooted plantlets.
 18. A method ofintroducing a desired trait into a pepper line the method comprising:(a) utilizing as a recurrent parent a plant of either pepper lineSJR-114-1172 or pepper line HJAFD13-1292, by crossing a plant of pepperline SJR-114-1172 or pepper line HJAFD13-1292 with a second donor pepperplant that comprises a desired trait to produce F1 progeny, a sample ofseed of said lines having been deposited under ATCC Accession NumberPTA-122821, and ATCC Accession Number PTA-122819, respectively; (b)selecting an F1 progeny that comprises the desired trait; (c)backcrossing the selected F1 progeny with a plant of the same pepperline used as the recurrent parent in step (a), to produce backcrossprogeny; (d) selecting backcross progeny comprising the desired traitand the physiological and morphological characteristics of the recurrentparent pepper line used in step (a); and (e) repeating steps (c) and (d)three or more times to produce selected fourth or higher backcrossprogeny that comprise the desired trait, and otherwise compriseessentially all of the morphological and physiological characteristicsof the recurrent parent pepper line used in step (a).
 19. A pepper plantproduced by the method of claim
 18. 20. A method of producing a pepperplant comprising an added trait, the method comprising introducing atransgene conferring the trait into a plant according to claim
 1. 21. Apepper plant produced by the method of claim
 20. 22. A pepper plantcomprising at least a first set of the chromosomes of pepper lineSJR-114-172 or pepper line HJAFD13-1292, a sample of seed of said lineshaving been deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-122821 and ATCCAccession Number PTA-122819, respectively; further comprising atransgene.
 23. The plant of claim 22, wherein the transgene confers atrait selected from the group consisting of male sterility, herbicidetolerance, insect resistance, pest resistance, disease resistance,modified fatty acid metabolism, environmental stress tolerance, modifiedcarbohydrate metabolism and modified protein metabolism.
 24. A pepperplant comprising at least a first set of the chromosomes of pepper lineSJR-114-1172 or pepper line HJAFD13-1292, a sample of seed of said lineshaving been deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-122821 and ATCCAccession Number PTA-122819, respectively; further comprising a singlelocus conversion.
 25. The plant of claim 24, wherein the single locusconversion confers a trait selected from the group consisting of malesterility, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, pest resistance,disease resistance, modified fatty acid metabolism, environmental stresstolerance, modified carbohydrate metabolism and modified proteinmetabolism.
 26. A method for producing a seed of a pepper plant derivedfrom at least one of pepper hybrid SV6496HJ, pepper line SJR-114-1172 orpepper line HJAFD13-1292, the method comprising the steps of: (a)crossing a pepper plant of hybrid SV6496HJ, line SJR-114-1172 or lineHJAFD13-1292 with itself or a second pepper plant; a sample of seed ofsaid hybrid and lines having been deposited under ATCC Accession NumberPTA-122822, ATCC Accession Number PTA-122821, and ATCC Accession NumberPTA-122819, respectively; and (b) allowing seed of a hybrid SV6496HJ,line SJR-114-1172 or line HJAFD13-1292-derived pepper plant to form. 27.A method of producing a seed of a hybrid SV6496HJ, line SJR-14-1172 orline HJAFD13-1292-derived pepper plant, the method comprising the stepsof: (a) producing a hybrid SV6496HJ, line SJR-114-1172 or lineHJAFD13-1292-derived pepper plant from a seed produced by crossing apepper plant of hybrid SV6496HJ, line SJR-114-1172 or line HJAFD13-1292with itself or a second pepper plant, a sample of seed of said hybridand lines having been deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-122822,ATCC Accession Number PTA-122821, and ATCC Accession Number PTA-122819,respectively; and (b) crossing the hybrid SV6496HJ, line SJR-114-1172 orline HJAFD13-1292-derived pepper plant with itself or a different pepperplant to obtain a seed of a further hybrid SV6496HJ, line SJR-114-1172or line HJAFD13-1292-derived pepper plant.
 28. The method of claim 27,further comprising repeating said producing and crossing steps of (a)and (b) using a seed from said step (b) for producing a plant accordingto step (a) for at least one generation to produce a seed of anadditional hybrid SV6496HJ, line SJR-114-1172 or lineHJAFD13-1292-derived pepper plant.
 29. A plant part of the plant ofclaim
 7. 30. The plant part of claim 29, further defined as a leaf, aflower, a fruit, an ovule, pollen, or a cell.
 31. A method of producinga pepper seed, the method comprising crossing the plant of claim 1 withitself or a second pepper plant and allowing seed to form.
 32. A methodof producing a pepper fruit, the method comprising: (a) obtaining theplant according to claim 1, wherein the plant has been cultivated tomaturity; and (b) collecting a pepper fruit from the plant.